Berserker (XCOM: Enemy Unknown)

For the standard Muton unit, see Muton (XCOM: Enemy Unknown).

The Berserker or Muton Berserker is an alien in XCOM: Enemy Unknown.

Description[]

The Berserker appears to be a larger, more heavily armored Muton. As a melee-only attacker, the Berserker relies on its superior Health, Defense and higher movement rate in order to close the distance between itself and its enemies; the Berserker also benefits from higher Will than a basic Muton. The Berserker has the Bull Rush ability, allowing it to charge towards its targets and obliterate anything in its path.

The Berserker is often encountered alongside one or two regular Mutons. This combination allows the Mutons to provide covering or Suppressing fire as the Berserker advances and use their Blood Call ability to further boost the Berserker's movement range.

Deployment[]

Berserkers first appear during the fifth month (July), or October if the "Marathon" Second Wave option is enabled. There is a limit of one Berserker per mission for the first month only (does not apply to Impossible difficulty and Alien Base Assault). Their chance of being deployed declines over the following three months (Marathon: five months, from December 2015 to April 2016) as new enemy units are introduced.

Abilities[]

Ability	Description
Intimidate	Reacts unpredictably when wounded, provoking panic in enemies.
Bloodlust	Allows the Berserker to charge an enemy that wounds it.
Bull Rush	Charge in a straight line through cover to unleash a devastating melee attack.

Traits[]

Trait	Description
Melee Only	Can only attack at close range; no ranged weapons or abilities.
Hardened	Reduces the chance of suffering a critical hit by 60%.

Capturing[]

Capturing a Berserker is an extremely difficult task to those who are underprepared. Since they deal massive damage and you need to get to close range to stun them, a failed Arc Thrower attempt will often prove fatal. Consider using a team where a soldier with the Arc Thrower is supported with an ally on Overwatch. If the stun fails, the Berserker will move to attack the Arc Thrower soldier - this kills the Berserker. Another option is using a cloaked soldier to stun the Berserker. Combining Chitin Plating with either method is highly recommended.

Research[]

Berserker Autopsy - Enables the production of Combat Stims and Neural Damping Gene Mod ^EW.
Interrogate Berserker - Grants Armor Technology research credit.

Tactics[]

Like regular Mutons, Berserkers react with Intimidate when wounded. This ability has the potential to inspire panic in an assailant.
They can do massive (9-11) damage both with their regular attack and with Bull Rush, and will easily "one-shot" an under-equipped soldier. The only way to mitigate the power of this attack is by equipping the operative with Chitin Plating.
As with all melee opponents, using cover is pointless. If there are no armed enemies currently within range to attack, put as much distance between the soldiers and the Berserker as possible. Since Berserkers tend to spawn alongside Mutons, it is typically difficult to do so.
If a soldier wounds a Berserker, it will immediately gain a free movement action and will run towards the aggressor due to Bloodlust. This perk can be used against the Berserker by drawing it out in the open, bouncing it between attackers, or luring it away from squishy or wounded operatives. If the player is unable to kill the Berserker at range during the turn, it may be better to Overwatch instead of shooting it, because reaction shots do not trigger Bloodlust.
- The Close Combat Specialist ability for the Assault Class is also very effective even if the soldier in question is carrying a rifle instead of a shotgun; if the first shot is a hit it will cause the Berserker to charge, and if it closes within four tiles, then CCS activates and a second shot is delivered. This tactic is often fatal to the Berserker if used by an Assault Soldier equipped with either a Plasma Rifle or Alloy Cannon.
- A Heavy Soldier with Mayhem can Suppress a Berserker to damage it and then immediately get a free reaction shot when the Berserker charges.
A good way to keep a Berserker at a distance is to use the Assault Soldier's Flush ability.
As the Berserker carries no weapon, there is no benefit in capturing more than one.
In XCOM: Enemy Within, a MEC has a special animation when killing a Berserker with the Kinetic Strike Module (and vice versa).

As Berserkers only have a melee attack, flying out of melee range is the perfect counter to these aliens. Consider equipping soldiers with Archangel Armor, or bring a Hover S.H.I.V. on missions where a Berserker's presence is expected. Bloodlust also causes Berserkers to pointlessly charge towards flying units that wound them.
- Sometimes, during the alien turn, the Berserker will move towards flying units of its own accord, then seemingly realize its mistake and move towards a valid target, wasting its turn.

Much like Chryssalids, Berserkers tend to be distracted by a Mimic Beacon's signal even when already in combat. A common exception is if the Berserker is close enough to an opponent to attack it.

Multiplayer[]

Berserkers cost 4000 points.

Berserkers are very strong against enemies if ambushed, so concealment is the Berserker's most effective weapon. The Bull Rush ability can help; however, its damaging effect only works against enemies whose cover is facing you. Having a Battle Scanner and/or a scout can greatly assist the Berserker. The scout can draw fire and help determine how the Berserker should proceed. Unfortunately, this tactic often comes at the cost of the Scout's life. Battle Scanners are only nominally useful; they may uncover hidden enemies, but it is impossible to know if they are on Overwatch until the next turn.

Having a Muton on your team will allow you to confer Blood Call onto your Berserker, increasing its mobility and offensive potential.

Trivia[]

The Berserker is assigned an Aim of 60 at all difficulty settings in the DefaultGameCore.ini file, despite the lack of a ranged weapon. This differs from other melee-only aliens (Chryssalid, Zombie), which are assigned an Aim of 0.
Berserkers (and Chryssalids) will sometimes move right next to a cloaked soldier, as if to attack, but then, being unable to actually do so, move towards another target instead. This could be a bug.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown Enemies
Aliens	Berserker • Chryssalid • Cyberdisc • Drone • Ethereal (Uber) • Floater (Heavy) • Mechtoid Muton (Elite) • Outsider • Sectoid (Commander) • Sectopod • Seeker • Thin Man • Zombie
EXALT	EXALT Heavy (Elite) • EXALT Medic (Elite) • EXALT Operative (Elite) • EXALT Sniper (Elite)